Telephone-cord protector.



E. T. BANES.

TELEPHONE 00m) PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 23, 1908.

912,778. Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

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Q vi 1'11 290% attouwq EDWARD T. BANES, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 16, 1909.

Application filed January 28, 1908. Serial No. 412,281.

Cord Protectors, 0 which the following is a specification.

- This invention relates to a protecting device intended for use in connection with jack plugs for telephone switch-boards for the purpose of preventing wear of the plug cords at t e points of connection between the cords and the plugs.

The invention hasfor one of its ob'ects to provide a device of this character WhlCll is of comparativel simple and inexpensive construction, an which can be readily applied to jack plugs of ordinary design.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a protecting device in the nature of a sleeve or bushing of resilient material prevents the cord from wearing by contact with the metal part of a plug, as when the plug iainserted in a jack and the cord drawn taut by its usual retracting weight, the resiliency of the sleeve serving to cushion the shock when the (plug is released by the operator and drop e upon the table of the switch-board, an also serving to reduce noise by the sttiking 0i P 2 uP911 the table.

Another object of the invention is to so design the protecting device that it can be usedas an attachment-and be readily applied to telephone cords already in use wit out detaching the cord from the plug.

With these objects in view and others as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises the various novel tures of construction and arrangement of parts whichwill be more fully described heremafter and set forth with particularity in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates certain of the embodiments of the in vention, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a jack plug and cord with the protecting device applied thereto. Figs. 2 to 5 inclusive, are fragmentary sectional views of various modifications of the protecting device. Fig. 6 is an end view of the device shown in Fig. 4.

7 is a similar view of the protector shown in 5, the protector being illustrated as sp open,-by the dotted lines. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the combined reinforcing feaand attaching device for the form of protector shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 9 is a pers ec tive view ofthe reinforcing device use in connection with the protector illustrated in Fig. 5. Fig. 10 is a detail view illustrating the position of the rubber or resilient protector when the cord is under tension, due'to its retracting weight. Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the form ofprotector shown in Fig. 3.

Similar reference characters are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Referring to the drawing, A designates a plu for a jack switch used in connection wit an ordinary cord circuit of a tele hone exchange or switch-board, the plug being of any approved design and connects with the cord in the usua manner. Applied to the cord B at the point where it enters theplug is the protecting device 0 which, in the pres-- ent instance, is illustrated as a sleeve or bushin of soft rubber or the like. 7

In t e forms shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 11, the protector has its inner end reduced to form a collar portion 1 that is ada ted to enter the counterbore 2 of the meta ic part or sleeve 3 of the plug A and this reduced portion may be secured in position by threads 4 on the part 3, as shown in Fig. 2, or it may be cemented to the metallic part 3 and also to the cord B, so as to firmlsecure the protector in osition. The unsp 't form of the protector, ust described, is preferablg used by manufacturers in making the cor and plugs.

In order to apply the protectors to plugs and cords already in use, the form is preferred which can be readily applied to the cord without requiring the latter to be detached from its plug. To this end, the protector is slit longitudinally at 5, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, so that the sleeve or bushing can he s readopen as indicated by dotte lines in t e latter ure for enabling the protector to be assem led over the cord. It may be desirable to emplo a split ring of spring metal to form a rein orcmq or clam ing means to securely hold the sp t sleeve in place. In the protector shown n Figs. 5 and 7. a simple ring 6 isembedded in the rubber with its ends disposed at opposite sides of the slit 5 so that the protector can he s read open, and to hold the protector in p ace it may be secured to the cord by ceclaws ing ring shown Figs. 4 and 8, is rovided I by the contractile tendency of the sleeve and 45 with spring gripping members 8 t at have their free ends extending out of the protector and bent laterally so as to grip the internal threads 9 of the metal part 3 of the plug, as shown in Fig. 4.

A protecting serves to prevent the cord from bearing against the metal part or butt endof the sleeve 3 of the plu when the latter is in its jack, and the cord 18 under tension due to its usual retracting weight, The covering of the cord is thus revented from Wearing so that danger of t e conductors of the cord short-'circuiting on the sleeve of the lug is effectively prevented. Furthermore, the protector forms a cushioning device or buffer for the plug when the latter is released by the operator and ermitted to drop upon the table of the switch-board, and it also reduces the sound usually occasioned by the plugs striking on the table when permitted to drop by the operator.

' f From the foregoing description, taken in a parent to those skilled in the art to which connection with the accompanying drawings, the advanta es of the construction and of the method 0 operation willbe readily t e invention appertains, and while I have described the principle of operation of the invention, together with the device'which I- now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shownis merely illustrative, and

that such changes may be made when desired as are vithin the sco e of the claims.

Having thus described t e invention, what I claim is:-

1. The combination of a telephone jack plug, a flexible conductor cord attached to the jack, and a sleeve of soft rubber sur-l roundin the cord. at a point where the latter enters t e plug and arranged with its internal surface in frictional contact with the cord device of this character 2'. The combination of a telephone jack' plug, acord attached thereto, and a combined protecting andcushioningdevice in the form of a sleeve disposed around and gripped on the cord at the inner end of the plug and bearing directly onthe latter, said device being in the form of a resilient body of current non-conducting material.

3. The combination of a telephone jack plug, a cord attached thereto, a sleeve of resilient material a plied around and gripped on the cord at t e inner end of the lug, and means permanently connected with the sleeve for attaching the latter to the plug.

4. The combination of a telephone jack plug, a cord attached thereto, and a split sleeve of elastic material on the cord at the inner end of the plug.

5. The combination of a telephone jack plug, a cord attached thereto, a split sleeve of elastic material on the cord at the inner end of the plug, a reinforcing member on the sleeve, and means for securing the sleeve in place.

6. An attachment for telephone cordsv and attaching members on the ring projectfrom the sleeve.

. testimony whereof I afiix my signature iii-presence of two witnesses.

I EDWARD T. BANES. p

Witnesses: SAMUEL N EELY, Joan A, Harem. 

